Aitor Karanka took his Teesside outfit to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The 3000 Boro fans who travelled to London went there in good voice, but also in trepidation.

Middlesbrough, however, fought extremely hard for their point and had multiple opportunities to take all three points from the Gunners.

Chances were spurned by Alvaro Negredo and Gaston Ramirez, while Arsenal failed to create much.

Their best effort came from an Alexis Sanchez strike. A free kick from the Chilean also called Victor Valdes into action.

Player Ratings

Victor Valdes - 7.5

The former Barcelona stopper had his best game in a Boro jersey. He commanded his area on multiple occasions, but still looked uncertain from time to time.

Antonio Barragan - 7

Barragan is certainly Middlesbrough's best right-back for his defensive capabilities. The only flaw in his game seems to be that his crossing can be hit and miss.

Antonio Barragan being closed down by Alex Iwobi during Saturday's stalemate | Photo: GettyImages / David Price
Antonio Barragan being closed down by Alex Iwobi during Saturday's stalemate | Photo: GettyImages / David Price

Daniel Ayala - 7

Calum Chambers has started over Ayala for the past three games, but the Spaniard did not look rusty against Arsenal. He looks to be returning to the player he was last season.

Ben Gibson - 7.5

As an article in the local paper, The Gazette, points out, Gibson has made the step up to the Premier League look easy. Another commanding centre-back performance from him was pivotal in Boro keeping their first clean sheet in six games.

George Friend - 7

The captain led by example in this match. Friend did not have the chance to make as many of his surging runs forward against Arsenal, so he had to show his class with Theo Walcott running at him. Friend kept him quiet for large parts of the match.

Adam Clayton - 7.5

Similarly to Daniel Ayala, Clayton did not look like he had been out of the squad for a number of matches. It was a typical dogged performance from Adam Clayton that could easily have gone unnoticed.

Marten de Roon - 7

De Roon had, arguably, his best game since arriving from Atalanta for £12 million in the summer. He still needs to get to know the league, however, as he always looks like he is going to give away a foul when closing down a player.

Adam Forshaw - 7.5

Adam Forshaw is quickly becoming this season's Adam Clayton. His performances are consistent. Even though he couldn't show his capabilities going forward in this game, the defensive side of his game was impressive.

ADAMA TRAORE - 8

It hasn't been a smooth transition to English football for Adama Traore. He started his first Premier League match against Arsenal and his pace and power were the best part of Middlesbrough's performance. His threat on the break was the reason Boro could've stolen the game.

Adama Traore ran at a weekend record 37 k/ph against Arsenal | Photo: GettyImages/ Dan Mullan
Adama Traore ran at a weekend record 37 k/ph against Arsenal | Photo: GettyImages/ Dan Mullan

Gaston Ramirez - 6.5

The former Boro loanee performed to a good standard at the Emirates, the best since Stoke on the opening day of the season. A free kick that hit the bar was his best showing in the game. He did get a little lost out wide, however, and a header that was saved at the far post was Boro's best chance of the game.

Alvaro Negredo - 6.5

Earlier this week Karanka said Negredo was the best striker at the club, and be that as it may, he is very low on confidence. This was shown by his lack of willing to shoot when bearing down on the Arsenal goal in the final minutes. He showed a great work ethic, however, and created chances for his teammates.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Dom Brown
Writer for VAVEL, Trainee Sports Journalist at Leeds Trinity University. Middlesbrough fan since 1997